Good basketball shooting drills for team practice have three things in common. Players shoot the shots they take in games, at the speed they play, and somebody counts. Everything else — the number of balls, the rotation, the competition — is there to protect those three things.
Most team shooting fails on the first one. Players take long, slow, uncontested jumpers from spots they never shoot from in a game, and the coach wonders why the shooting in practice does not show up on Saturday.
Organise first: baskets, balls and groups
Before you pick a drill, work out how many shots each player gets. One ball and a line of six at one basket is one shot per player every half minute, at best. The same six players split into two groups of three, with two balls per group, shoot four or five times as often.
A simple default:
- Groups of three per basket. Shooter, rebounder, passer. Rotate on every shot or every minute.
- Two balls per group. The rebounder passes one out while the shooter is still landing from the last.
- A ball rack or a coach for drills that need a steady feed.
- One minute per spot, then move. Short rounds keep the effort high.
If you have more players than baskets, run a finishing or ball-handling station alongside and swap groups every few minutes. Waiting players learn nothing.
1. Finish first: the Mikan drill
Every shooting block should start at the rim. The Mikan drill is five minutes of short layups from alternate sides with the ball kept high, and it does three jobs: it warms up touch, it trains the correct foot and hand on both sides, and it gets players used to catching the ball out of the net and going straight back up.
Count makes in 30 seconds and write the number down. Players who can see their own number go harder.
2. Off a screen: chair curl shooting
A chair on each elbow stands in for the screener. The shooter walks his imaginary defender into the chair, curls tight around it, catches from the coach and rises into the shot.
The coaching point that matters most is the curl itself. If the shooter drifts wide, the screen screens nobody and the shot comes from further out than in a game. Shoulder brushing the chair, hands ready, inside foot down first on the catch, shoulders square before the shot. Some coaches teach a two-foot hop on the catch instead of the one-two step. Both work; pick one for your team and stay with it.
The second phase sends the shooter back under the rim to curl the other chair. That is the repetition that matters: two curls, two catches, two shots, then rotate.
Once the curl is clean, add the read. A trailing defender follows the shooter, and the shooter curls if the defender trails, fades to the wing if the defender cuts under the chair. That is the same read a shooter makes coming off a pin-down or a stagger in your offense.
3. Catch and shoot from game spots
Partner shooting is the simplest team shooting drill and still one of the best, as long as the spots are right. Choose the three or four spots your offense actually creates: both corners, both wings, and the top if you play through it. A big who never shoots from the wing should not spend practice shooting from the wing.
The rules:
- The passer passes to the shooter’s shooting pocket, not to his face.
- The shooter is on the move into the catch, feet ready, hands showing a target.
- The shooter follows his shot and becomes the passer. The passer becomes the shooter at the next spot.
- One minute per spot, makes counted out loud.
For older players, add a shot fake and one dribble into a pull-up on every third catch. The shot fake is only useful if it looks exactly like the shot.
4. Shoot over a closeout
A shot in a game almost always comes with a defender running at the shooter. Pair the closeout drill with your shooters and both groups get better at once.
The defender starts in help under the basket. The coach passes to the wing, the defender closes out, and the shooter has a choice: shoot if the defender is short, drive past him if he flies by, with at most two dribbles. Score it both ways. A point for every make, a point for the defense for every stop.
This is the drill where shooting meets drive and kick. Players learn that a good closeout takes the shot away and gives up the drive, and that a bad one gives up both.
5. Finish at speed
Layups at walking pace do not transfer to games. Two drills in the library put finishing at the end of real movement.
The ladder to finish runs quick feet through an agility ladder and over two mini hurdles, a catch on the move, one hard dribble past a dummy and a finish high off the glass.
The three-man weave ends every trip with a layup off a pass at full speed, which is exactly the finish a fast break needs. Rule for both: a missed layup is the next group’s turn, not a second try.
6. Shoot when tired
Free throws and late-game shots happen after running. Practise them that way.
- Free throws after sprints. Run one length of the floor and back, then two free throws. The team goal is a number of makes out of attempts before the drill ends.
- Pressure free throws. One shooter, the whole team watching. A miss and the team runs; a make and the next player steps up. Use it sparingly, because pressure only works when it is rare.
Our guide to conditioning drills with the ball has more ways to put shooting at the end of real effort.
Keep score
Shooting without a count is exercise. Shooting with a count is practice.
You do not need software. A sheet with each player’s name and three columns — the drill, makes, attempts — filled in by the players themselves after each round is enough. Once a week, compare. Players who see their catch-and-shoot number rise believe in the drill. Players whose number stays flat show you where the form needs work.
Competitive rounds help too. Two baskets race to a team total. One group against another, from the same spots, for one minute. The losing group does not run; it shoots another round first next practice.
Mistakes to avoid
- Endless form shooting. It belongs in the first two minutes for beginners, not in the middle of a varsity practice.
- Shooting beyond range. If the form changes to reach the rim, the shot is too far.
- Nobody rebounds. A rebounder who chases the ball as hard as the shooter shoots doubles the shots in the drill.
- Talking during reps. Coach between rounds. During the round, players shoot.
- No game spots. Practise the shots your offense creates.
Drawing your own shooting drills
The Mikan drill, chair curls, the closeout, the ladder to finish and the weave are all in the SlongeHoops drill library with a diagram for every phase, the equipment, the coaching points and variations. Open one in the app to change it: move the chairs to the wings, swap the coach for a passer, add a second shooter.
If your favourite shooting drill is not there yet, draw it in the drill designer. Put the chairs, cones or ball rack where they stand in the gym, drag from each player to show the cut, the pass and the shot, and it runs phase by phase. The library has many common shooting drills, but not every one. Equipment also stays where you put it for the whole drill: a chair cannot move between phases.
Questions
What is the best shooting drill for a team practice?
One where every player shoots the shot he takes in games, at game speed, and somebody counts the makes. Partner shooting from game spots, curls off chairs and catch-and-shoot against a closeout all qualify. Standing form shooting does not, once players are past the beginner stage.
How do you run shooting drills with only one basket?
Groups of three with two balls: one shoots, one rebounds, one passes, and everyone rotates on every shot. Put the other players on a finishing or ball-handling station away from the rim and swap groups every few minutes.
Should young players shoot three-pointers in practice?
Only from where they can shoot with the same form they use close in. If a player has to throw the ball from the hip to reach the rim, the shot is too far for now. Build range from the inside out.
How many shots should players take in a team practice?
Count them once and you will know. The number matters less than the quality: game shots, from game spots, at game speed. A coach who keeps a simple make count per drill can see within a few weeks whether the shooting time is working.